One of my old blog posts has been getting some attention lately, and the recent comments have got me thinking – again – about who bears what responsibility in the process of education.

The last comment I left was, essentially, this:

I reject the idea that we have to entertain our students, though I think that a lot of them come to our classes expecting to be entertained. I embrace the idea of challenging students, though they have to be willing to meet the challenge, and I think that may be where a lot of the disconnect is happening. How do we change attitudes about what the kids see as “work” to get them to understand that there is excitement and energy to be found in those places where aptitude and challenge meet? How do we give the kids what we know they need in a way that engages and motivates them?